Ham press



Aug. B9, H947. C, BUTz HAM PRESS Filed sept. 19. 1944 vs sheets-Smets j: 47. y Il 4a E -1 //5 5 G a 4/ 7 :o 4

/Z .A I@ d/ .36 /6-f "p 9; 2a h Z9 4* l l Patented ug. 149, 1947 UNITED STATES OFFICE PRESS Clarence Butz, Muscatine, Iowa Application September 19, 1944, Serial No. `554,804

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to ham presses and is an improvement over the construction embodied in my prior patents, No. 1,792,411, dated February 10, 1931, and No. 1,935,015, -dated November 14, 1933.

An object of this invention is Vto provide an improved ham Vpress and method of 4pressing hams which Will permit themore rapid pressing of the hams and will also permit the more rapid removal of the hams from the press.

In prior press constructions of this kind `the ham is pressed into a mold or receptacle and it is a difficult matter to remove the ham from the mold without distorting the ham. In addition the use of a mold requires that the hams be of a predetermined average `size for `fittinginto the mold. It is, therefore, `another olbject of this `invention to provide a ham pressrw-hich will permit the pressing of `hams of different sizes and which will facilitate the removal of the pressed ham from the press.

A further object of this-inventionis-to provide an improved method of pressingthe ham,-Which includes encompassing `the "ham in a bag and then inserting the encompassed ham kin `the press. By a method .of this kind the ham Will not `become broken or splitasit is vbeing pressed d ue to the fact Vthat the fabric of the covering Will shape itself to the shape of the pressed ham, While at the same time providing a means whereby the pressed ham may lbe readily 'removed from the press Without affecting the pressed shape of the ham.

A further .object of this invention'is to provide an improved press which is of simple construction so that it is readilyportable and can Kbe used at any desired location.

To the foregoing objects, land others Which may hereinafter more Afully appear, the inven- .tion consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will'be more specifically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is tobe understood that changes, variations, and modications may be resorted to which fall Within the scope of the invention as claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 Yis a detail side elevation of a ham press constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional View takenon the Aline 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fgure2.

Figure is a fragmentary 'sectional viewlftaken on the lli-ne 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figui-effi `-is` adetail side elevation partly'ioroken away -of :the `pressure means ffor applying fpressuretothe ham,

(c1. roovm.)

Figure `7 is ,a :plan View ci the 'latch retreetns spring.

Eig-ure is a fragmentary side elevation cf the press frame construction.

5 Referring to thedrawines. the numeral l0 desienates generally abase which is cf rectangular c onneuration and which has rising item the cppcsite ends thereof. a pair cf upriehts H and I2. uprights -H and. l2 are secured tceetller .et

l0 their upper ends by a `c cllllecting par I3. The

,upright ll is ,braced 'by means of e eeir ef 111D- .wardlyzccnvereent bracing members I4 and I5 and upright `l2 is .braced by means ci upwardly convergent bracing members i6 end H.. A press constrnetion.` generally designated es 1.8, Yis

`rncnnteclwithinthe trarne 4,structure herenbefcre described, and includes `a bese plete t9, which `:rests en bese le betweentne unrishts .II and l2- Basel has securedto the cppcsiteends .thereof e reir of upwardly extendlnemernbers `2,11 and 121, which, are braced in an upright position by bracing .members 22 and 2 3, respectively. Un

ehrt 521B fis :formeel with .a plurality cf elcngeted slots 24end upright 2l. is termed with .ccmplefmentary elongated ,slcts 2li. Theslcts 2 4 and v25 constitute keepers fer theletches tc be `hereinafter described.

nnnessure eletez `.isvvestinellysllsiebl e between :the .upright/,S ,2D `and 2| `andis formed at `the op- :n ite ends thereof `with aeuicle .flugs 2l and `2li- ?Fhere are luss Magasins on the epncste ve ,ical edges of neri-ent 2,0 andai-lere `are two `lues `2.3 engaging on `the .ecncsite vertical edge .cf upright :Z1-l. .A :second delete .29 .disposed alcove `@ress lnfe slate 2t end ,is `termed adjacent the opposite ends thereof with openings 30 and '3l thereof with a recess .4,1 cht-hefwerfminal end il? :ci ring 3.8 is est di c be clamped. en nneerflelcek Mpls secured .tothe Ylowerside of plate 1219 lby teSterlingV mbers 44 and :block @4;3 is formeel with .a recess 5 :within s ple-te I,Willenslee eeifledley nnrlerhts .20

which the upper terminal end 49 of spring 38 is adapted to be clamped.

Plate 29 isadapted to be moved downwardly by means ofv a pressure bar 41, which has secured to the lower side thereof a block 48 formed with a recess 49 within which plate 29 is adapted to be received, and block 48 is also formed with a central cutout 59 within which the latch retracting spring to be hereinafter described, is adapted to loosely engage. The recess 49 forms a pair of downwardly extending lugs l at the opposite lengthwise edges of plate 29, so that pressure bar 41 cannot shift transversely with respect to plate 29. Bar 41 with block 48 is not connected to plate 29, being removable from this plate after plate 29 has been moved downwardly and spring 38 placed under the desired tension.

In order to provide `a means whereby plate 29 may be latched. in ham pressing position, I have provided a pair of latches 52 and 53 which are slidably carried by the plate 29 inwardly of the uprights 29 and 2 i. Latch 52 is slidably mounted ina housing 54 and is spring pressed to a latched position by means of a spring 55.

A headed pin 56 is fixed to latch member or bolt 52 and slidably extends upwardly through a slot 51 formed in plate 29. Latch member 53 is slidably mounted in a housing 58 and is urged to a latching position by means o`f a spring 59. An upwardly extending headed pin 60 is carried by the latch or bolt member 53 and slidably extends through a slot 9i formed in plate 29. As plate 29 is moved downwardly under pressure from bar 41 latch members 52 and 53 will engage in selected ones of slots or keepers 24 and 25. At the same time plate 29 is moved downwardly, plate 26 will be moved downwardly under the tension of spring 38 and thereby place a boned ham 62, which is encompassed by a fabric bag 63, under the desired pressure.

When it is desired to release spring tensioning plate 29 a latch releasing spring 64, which is formed with loops 55 and 95 at the opposite ends thereof, is engaged with pins 55 and 60. Spring 94 when stretched between pins 56 and 60 is of greater tension than springs 55 and 59 so that a slightk downward movement of plate 29 with spring 54 engaged with latch pins 56 and 60 will pull latches 52 and 53 inwardly to released position.

In the use and operation of this press, plate 29 is initially in its unlatched position as shown in Figure 1. The encased ham is placed on base member I9 and the latter is placed on lower base I9 of the frame structure. The bag is tied, as indicated at 51, and it will be understood that initially the ham 62 is boned so that it may be shaped in the desired configuration. Pressure bar 41 has block 48 engaged with plate 29 and pressure in a downward direction is applied to bar 41. This pressure may be the weight of an operator who has his hands gripped to bar 41 on opposite sides of uprights I'I and l2. Plate 29 is moved downwardly along guides 36 and 31 and when in a lower position will engage guides 29 and 2|. Plate'29 is moved downwardly to tension spring 38 and the latter applies the tension to pressure plate 29 which engages the encased ham. As plate 29 moves downwardly along uprights 20 and 2| latch members 52 and 53 will engage in successive keepers 24 and 25.

It is desirable'that the ham be left in the press for aeshort period of time so that it will retain its pressedY shape. rlhe press embodying base I9, uprights 29 and 2l and plates 29 and 29 may be removed as a unit from the base plate by lifting the entire unit upwardly along guides 36 and 31. After the ham has assumed its desired shape, spring 64 is applied which has loops 65 and 66 engageable with pins 56 and 60, respectively, and plate 29 may then be moved downwardly a short distance whereupon spring 64 will move latch members 52 and 53 inwardly to released position.

By providing a press as hereinbefore described and included, by the improved method of pressing the ham which embodies the encasing of the ham in a heavy fabric bag, the pressed ham may be more readily removed from the press without any portion of the ham sticking to the press, and if desired the pressed ham, with the bag, may be placed in a refrigerator to cool to the desired degree and, subsequently, the bag 63 may be removed from the ham.

What I claim is:

1. Aham press comprising a frame including v a base, uprights arising from said base, guides carried by said uprights, a lower plate seated on said base, a pair of uprights fixed to said plate and formed with Complementary keepers, an upper plate slidably engaging said guides and formed with openings through which said second uprights are adapted to pass, spring-pressed bolts carried by said upper plate engageable with se lected keepers an intermediate plate slidable between said second uprights, a spring interposed between said upper and intermediate plates, and means for moving said upper plate downwardly tothereby tension said spring and place said intermediate plate under predetermined pressure for pressing a ham disposed between said intermediate and lower plates.

2. lA ham press as set forth in claim l including a pair of pins carried by said bolts, and a remov able bolt releasing spring connected between said pins. i Y

3. A ham press comprising a base, a pair of uprights rising from said base, opposed vertical guides carried by said uprights, a press unit removably engaging on said base between said uprights, said unit .comprising a lower plate, a pair of uprights Carried by said lower plate, each of said second pair of uprights including vertically spacedapart keepers,4 an intermediate presser plate slidablerbetween said second pair of uprights, an upper presser plate sidably engaging said guides and formed with openings through which said second pair of uprights loosely engage,

Y spring-pressed bolts carried by said upper plate engageable with selected keepers upon downward movement of `said upper plate, a tensionable spring secured to and between said intermediate and upper plates, and means for forcibly moving said upper plate downwardly.

4. A ham press as set forth in claim 3 including removable spring means for automatically moving said bolts to released position.

CLARENCE BUTZ.

REFERENCES. CTED The followingreferences are of record in the le of this patent:

f UNITED s'rATEsPAT'ENTs 

